The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1887-11-22
THREE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
2 |. 7T''7' 7EI'E8I \ ~ 6F1IlET13fN.7'W .NI HRfs
Charac @ cteris,ics of q Peculiar Group.
Tho Symphonic They Produce

tf.fr fF.s : = l. /. 10. r' -.
'@Tilere is 4 peculiar group Of poisons
Whose action3ts to- dilateithespupils in
stead of contracting them, like, opium,
TO 70 arrest the secretlons. of the. skin, TO
stimulate the brain, causing delirium,
and paralyz6 the ends of the nerves of
motion; ;Sto stimulate the spinal : cord
and then pagalyze 1T; to increase the
action action OF the heart and then to bring it
to stand-still. These drugs are bella
-douna 1.-THE deadly night shade), hyoscyi
anus, s(henbane), and stramonium
Crimson weed" or thorn.apple), These
all act alike, but vary In strength !; the
order in which they have been named
being that Of their irhdestructiye Quail:
ties. They allay pain. but not, to tho
same extent as opium, and induce sleep
to some degree.
The symptoms produced are alike,
and are asgfollows,swhen. gwen in
pe''2 poisonous doses: 1Leath and dryaess of
the mouth and throat, nausea, yomit-
Ing, dizziness, lndistinct or double Wis.
ION, delirium, great excitement, con-
Vulslons followed by stupor and ,incon-
seriousness. The pupils Of the eyes are
dllated to their, utmost, and light does
not affect them. The face is reddened
With eruption similar to that OF scarlet
FEVER the eyes are fixed and abrillia1t
the gait Isl totterlng and the .deliflum
IS SUCH as to cause silly talk anT fret
qnehet bursts OF careless laughter. The
berries, root and leaves of, belladonIa
nave each caused fatal poisoRtng.s ,TAe
active principle. atropine,s Is AN ex,
tremely powerful drug, producing the
same effects when taken In very minute
doses. Poisoning may result from ape,
plying q belladonna plaster to the skin,
especially If the surface is broken.
Most cases OF belladona poisoning re- ii.
suit from mistakes, III prescribing OF
administering remedies. sIts 'use by
criminals Is rare. nH sb'' 9. 81 ti'siEali
Stramonlum,S or "jimson3 weed" ID
suclra common plant and accessible at6
every one thatpoisoning from the'caTel
less swallowing Of its seeds is not at all
uncommon. Scarcely a year passes but
some child dies from this causein the
lofty. The authorities are certainly re-
spopsible for such accidents, as. it
lwculd, be an easy matter to cause every
plant Of the kind to be, destroyed before
4 The seeds have ,matureQ. IN. India. a
|nmilar, plant is. often made use of. by
j ;he Thugs to render their victims help
yess, Tho symptoms are' tilt. Same d us :
chose Of belladonna poisoning. It ID
likely that some Of the ''drugging''
| iIemployeds by the professional thieves in
this country Is done with preparations
'1of stramonium seeds. tEE tE i@4R
Henbane (hyoscyamus) is poisonous
4 inevery part. Leaves. roots and seeds
'produces effects like those observed.
|after poisoning by belladonna, but the
dose required to produce such resu Its
Els much larger Twenty OF the seeds
have been known to produce poisoning,
and the same may be said of the '.jim-
son weed" .., !.
h The treatment Of poisoning by any of
these three plants is to remove, all that
may remain In the stomach by the most
5prompttand effective emetlcs,; In case
these do not act, the stomach tube
must'be brought Into nseJ .Thon give
castor oil to remove any or the poison
Ious materials that may have PASSED be-
yond the stomach. AS there is. no
Trustworthy chemical antidote, NOR
phlne. may be given cautiously on ac-
count Of its action being opposed in
most particulars to. that OF these
polsons. Coffee and alcohol should be
given 1.-THE heart becomes very weak,
as shown by .sthe pulse. Animal char
coal and d'tannin have been givens al.
though there does not appear to be any
very good reasons for administering
them, ... ....,,, vi, a.,,
!, Potsons in Food